


Healing

by Wingardium



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, infirmary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-03-28 17:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3862987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingardium/pseuds/Wingardium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico has to spend at least three days in the infirmary, it was promised on the Styx and all that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nico had made the promise just a few hours ago, and he was already regretting it.  
The past few days he had been hugged, shaken hands, kissed and touched more than in the past few years and it made him exhausted. Then he had been weighed, asked questions, stethoscoped, asked more questions, measured... Right now, he was staring at the white ceiling of the infirmary with a cold wet towel on his forehead. "Alright, this is the last one." Will said as he put another tiny bottle on the needle in his arm. "Why do you need five bottles of blood? Isn't just one enough?" Nico asked grumpily. Nico closed his eyes, since the rotating ceiling didn't make him feel any better. After just one of those stupid bottles he had started to feel dizzy, after the third Will had tilted back his chair and put that towel on his forehead. He wanted that stupid needle out of his arm. "One bottle isn't enough, I need to run different tests. But you're done now."  
Will pushed a gaze on Nico's arm and pulled out the needle. "Hold that, keep pushing till the wound closes." Will put different coloured stickers on the tubes. He heard the sound of hooves and opened his eyes. Black spots danced on the ceiling, but he wasn't as dizzy as before. His head didn't feel drained anymore. A satyr wearing a nurse cap put down a tray on the table next to the chair. "You look even more dead than before." The satyr told him.  
"Thanks." The satyr smiled. "Don't worry, you'll feel better after you eat that muffin. I made it myself, it has some herbs in it that will make you healthy again in no time!" Nico looked at the tray. The muffin was green with orange spots and ambrosia sprinkles on top. It didn't look very appetizing. "Thank you, Elliot." Will said as he poured a glass of water. Nico carefully sat up in his chair and accepted the glass from Will. Elliot exited the room with the tray of Nico's blood.  
"So," Will turned around on his chair to face him, "how did you get the wounds on your arms?" He pointed at Nico's werewolf marks. Reyna had done a pretty good job, considering they didn't have a lot of first aid at hand. The three deep, jagged lines on his left arm and two on his right hadn't shown much improvement over the past few days. "Werewolf." Nico answered as he watched how Will cut a bandaid for his puncture wound.  
"I've heard werewolf marks take a while to heal. They don't sting as much as the first day. Reyna's stitches held it together, but I don't think it's actually healing." Will looks up and Nico's heart stutters. He hadn't noticed it before, but Will has long eyelashes and tiny silver spots in his eyes. "They are only claw marks, right? You weren't bit and didn't get blood on your wounds?" Wills' voice sounded worried. "No, just his claws." That seems to relieve him. He carefully turned Nico's arm to take a better look.  
The wounds were still red and swollen. "It looks infected. I'll have to remove the stitches to clean it, than sew it back together. I can give you an ointment to speed up the healing, but it will take some extra time to heal since your body is in such a poor state." Will glared at Nico's shirtless torso. He was glad he had gained a bit of weight since he joined the Argo II. Reluctantly he picked up the monster muffin and stuffed a piece in his mouth. That seemed to please the other boy a bit. The muffin tasted like gravel with grass. Luckily his taste still hadn't come back completely yet. "I'll make a diet for you to help you gain some weight. We'll have to wait for your test results to see if you have any shortages on vitamins and stuff. I'll also go out with you everyday for a couple of hours, after you’ve rested a bit."  
"Outside?" Going out for walks seemed like a weird treatment.  
"You look like a corpse. Actually, Jules-Albert has a better teint than you. You need some sun and vitamin D." Nico sighed. He wanted to put his half eaten muffin back on the tray, but Will pushed his hand back with a warning look. He sighed again and took another bite. The fartura-tasting ambrosia on top didn't do any good for the taste. “I will keep a look on you, di Angelo, and you’ll eat every meal even if I have to feed it to you.” The idea of Will feeding him made his heart stop again. He mentally kicked himself and found back his voice. “You won't have to, at least not if I don’t have to eat any herb muffins again.” Will laughed.   
A blonde kid in a nurse shirt came in. "The Romans are leaving, are you guys coming?"

  
Hazel had hugged him almost the entire time it took everyone to pack up the cars. They had promised to write and send Iris messages. Frank had promised to look out for her, and Reyna too.  
The preator had carried the weight of her job alone for way too long. Her (secret) mandatory vacation was already planned. Jason said he would take her back to Camp Half Blood when he returned from New Rome. Reyna had hugged Nico again and reminded him that he would always have a place at New Rome, which made Nico cry again.  
Now Nico stood on the hill and watched the last SUV's disappearing into the horizon. Will stood next to him while the others around them headed back to camp. The last car was out of sight. The wood nymphs appeared and danced over the car tracks to cover them up with new plants. "Are you okay?" Will asked. Nico took a deep breath. "Yes. Let's get back." Will took his hand and gave a reassuring squeeze.  
It was just a friendly gesture, but still made Nico's hand feel like it had been electrocuted. The smile Will gave him reminded Nico of the sun.

  
"This is the last one." The son of Apollo said as he injected the anesthetic. Nico grit his teeth. He was starting to hate needles.  
Will picked up a tiny pair of scissors. "It wil kick in in about five minutes, I'll remove Reyna's stitches in the meantime and clean it up." Nico watched as Will carefully pulled out the threads. It was fascinating and weird, but also gross. He decided it was better not to watch it before he got sick. He looked at the other boy instead. His blond hair shone in the sunlight that came in from the window next to his bed. It looked so soft Nico got the sudden urge to pet it.  
He returned his gaze to the bloody mess of his arms.  
One of the wounds was open and Will looked surprised as he looked into it. "Can someone get me tweezers?" A short girl of about 11 years old pushed the curtains aside with the tool in her hand. She took one look at Nico's arm and turned away, blood drained from her face. She was probably still a trainee. Nico felt sorry for her. The healer took the tweezers and pulled something out of his arm. "You got spoils of war." Will announced with a half smile.  
Luckily the girl had already fled, because this would have made her sick. Between the tweezers was a bloody werewolf claw of about two inches. "That's... Disgusting and cool at the same time."  
Will dropped the claw in a small metal tray on the bed. "No wonder it got infected." He murmured.  
Will continued to cut out the remaining stitches on his arm before desinfecting it. The anesthetic was starting to work. Nico couldn't feel Will's hands on his arm anymore and the desinfectant stung just a little.  
Will's trained hands started to sew his arm back together. "I'm sorry, it will scar." He said. Nico just shrugged the shoulder that didn't have a needle in the arm. "Could be worse, at least I still have my arm."  
"You're lucky you still have feeling left in your arm, and that you can move it." Nico didn't answer that.  
He hadn't slept much the past few days, not in the past few weeks either. He suppressed a yawn. The other boy noticed. " I'll be done in a few minutes, don't fall asleep yet." Nico nodded and tried to keep his eyes open. Will was quiet as he worked, and he was unbelievably fast too. Just fifteen minutes later the stitches were done. The new stitches looked a lot better, and most of the redness was already fading. Will grabbed a tube of ointment and started dabbing it on his wounds. It had a faint smell of mint.  
"I'll wrap it up with some bandages, you can lie down if you want." Nico nodded. The moment his head fell on the cushion he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It was pitch black. Nico could see nothing. He felt like he was floating in ink. It was quiet for a while, but then he heard them. The voices began as a whisper, then grew louder. They sounded vicious. Nico tried to get away from them, but when he tried to move it was as if he was swimming through quicksand. They were coming closer, and he could recognize them. The chattering of bones, the loud steps of cyclops, the flapping of gryphon wings. There were hundreds of them, coming closer, and in the distance... It was like a drum, thump-thump, thump-thump... It was the heart of Tartarus. Nico panicked, he tried to run but his legs wouldn't move and the sounds only got closer. "I can smell the demigod... Son of Hades... He's mine!" A vicious cackle, a battle cry, the banging of weapons on shields. Something grabbed and he yelled, he kicked, he- 

He woke up, his heart hammering in his chest, sweating and with tears streaming down his face. It was a dream, Nico realized and he held his head in his hands. "Nico?" Will's blond head peaked out from the hallway.   
"Will," Nico answered. His voice shook. The healer stepped into the room and sat down at his bed. "Hey," he whispered as he grabbed one of Nico's hands. "I heard you scream. Are you okay?" His pretty blue eyes looked way too worried. "I'm fine, don't worry." Will hooked his foot on a chair and pulled it towards the bed, without letting go of Nico's hand. He kept his worried gaze on him as he sat down. "Really, go back to bed. It was just a dream." Nico sighed. His hand was starting to feel clammy, and the tiny electric shocks he got from the touch made him blush.   
"Not sleepy." The son of Apollo mumbled to his lap. Nico noticed the dark circles under his eyes.  
"Bullshit." Will looked up.   
"You run around the infirmary all day to treat everyone. You won't let me out of your sight and scold me for not taking care of myself, yet you do the same."   
Will looked down again. Without saying a word he let go of Nico and stepped into the bed next to his. "That's better."   
Will slumped down, looking like a scolded kid. "You're right." he sighs. "I'm a hypocrite." Nico let out a tiny laugh, and Will laughed with him. It wasn't even funny, but the middle of the night somehow made that sort of things funny. Nico closed his eyes. He tried to go back to sleep, but he felt like he was being stared at. Will was lying on his side, looking at him. "Seriously, go to sleep." Nico grumbled.  
"Not sleepy." The other yawned. Two minutes later they were both snoring. 

"There you are!" A very annoyed Apollo kid yanks Will's blankets of him. He makes an annoyed sound and hides his head under his pillow."Get up, stinky." His sibling starts to pull his arm to try to get him out of bed. "You're a kid." Nico laughed. It still sounds weird in his ears. "shudup." came the muffled reply from under the cushion but then he stood up. His hair was glued to one side of his face. "'kay Rebecca, I'm up." he sighed. Rebecca tried her best not to laugh at his bedhead. She tried to keep a very serious face. "A hermes idiot messed up with a prank."   
Will rushed off. Nico decided to grab his chance and get some breakfast at the dining hall. The thought of the all organic horribleness they served here made him shudder. His shirt lay rumpled in a corner. He groaned at the colourfullnightmare. He didn't have anything else, so he put it on anyways and hoped it was too early for someone to see (or smell) him. 

After about an hour he headed back to the infirmary. He had managed to fnd a new shirt and felt a lot better, even if it was a bright orange camp shirt. He turned around the corner of the building. A fuming Will stood at the entrance. "Where were you?"   
"Good morning to you too. I had breakfast and took a shower." He answered as he threw an apple to Will. The son of Apollo nearly dropped it. "get your ass back in bed." Will said, but he didn't sound as angry as before.  
The Hermes Idiot turned out to be Cecil, who occupied the bed across Nico's. He looked very happy for someone with greek fire burns."I wanted to wake up the camp with fireworks. It was going to be the best prank of this summer, but I already thought of something even better." He grinned. Will, who was wrapping one of his legs, slapped him."I won't treat you next time, you idiot."  
Cecil grabbed his leg dramatically with a gasp of pain. "Doctor, that hurts!"   
"Aww, poor you, want me to kiss it better?" Will said sarcastically.  
"Is that the special treatment you give Nico?" Will turned bright red and Nico could feel his ears burn too. Cecil laughed so loud he woke up the other kids in the infirmary.

Nico had a lot of visitors that day. Ellen Lou came by to scold Cecil and to give Nico a card.   
_Thanks for saving camp!_ It read in rainbow letters. The beaming statue of Athena looked out over camp. There were Romans wrestling with skeletons, satyrs picking strawberries and demigods sparring on the field. There was a spell on it, so the statue gave real (although faint) light and the figures moved. It was now hanging on the corkboard behind him. Next to it was the dreamcatcher from Piper and a bright red feather from Ella. The harpy came by every few days to deliver books. Appearantly books were good for sick demigods, and for harpies too. Jason gave him a black shirt with a skull and Percy gave him a pack of oreos.   
Visiting hours were over already, and Nico was reading the only good book Ella had brought. Most of them had titles like " _The history of Germany in the 16th century_ " or" _How to take care of your guinea pig_ ", so everyone had fought over the book untill he had mentioned he had never heard of it before. The others had insisted on him taking it, saying he didn't belong to this century untill he had read it. He could understand why even dyslectic demigods would love it. He was already halfway through it, so focused he didn't notice Will smiling at him untill he spoke. "Ahhh, my childhood." He sighed. Nico jumped.  
"Have you really never heard of Harry Potter before?" Will shook his head in disbelief.  Nico shrugged. "I didn't really have a lot of time to read the past few years." He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He hadn't noticed it was already dark out. The clock on the wall read 12:48. "I should tell you to go to sleep, but this is clearly an important reason to stay awake." Will said, smiling. "Nah, I'll sleep." Nico yawned again and placed a bookmarker (another harpy feather) where he left. "But you should too." He continued, glaring at Will.  
"I was going to!" The other defended himself as he slipped into the bed next to his. Nico raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have a bed at the Apollo cabin?"   
"I wasn't letting you out of sight, remember?"   
Nico raised the other eyebrow too. "Do you really think I'll sneak out in the middle of the night to raise a zombie army?"   
Will shrugged. "Would be a typical Hades kid thing to do."   
Nico threw an oreo at him. "Seriously, you can go sleep in your own bed. You can leave me alone for longer than half an hour, trust me."   
"I do trust you." Will said it so easy, so matter of fact. Nico stared at him. Will winked. "Maybe I just like spending time with you."  
The healer turned his back to Nico and fell asleep, leaving Nico to wonder what the hell that meant. It took a long time before he fell asleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's so much more fun than studying for your biology exam? Writing. Also punching yourself in the face.  
> Tiny headcannon for this chapter:  
> Ella’s favourite character from Harry Potter is Hagrid. Friendly giant, like Tyson. Face almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a long tangled beard. Eyes glinting like black beetles. Good person.


	3. chapter 3

He woke up without nightmares that day. The Apollo children were already running around, the people in the beds around him were all awake. "What time is it?" Nico asked as he sat up. "Noon, sleepyhead." Said someone he didn't know from three beds further. Nico felt disorientated.He had slept for about twelve hours, without being knocked out or extreme shadow travel exhaustion.   
"Will didn't want to wake you up, he said you needed the rest." Cecil explained.  
"He nearly decapitated me when I tried to draw on your face." Said Travis Stoll next to him. For once, Nico was thankfull for Will's worrying.    
He still checked his face for sharpie mustaches in the bathroom, just to be sure. He had no doodles, but he did have a serious bedhead.   
He woke up without nightmares that day. The Apollo children were already running around, the people in the beds around him were all awake. "What time is it?" Nico asked as he sat up. "Noon, sleepyhead." Said someone he didn't know from three beds further. Nico felt disoriented. He had slept for about twelve hours, without being knocked out or extreme shadow travel exhaustion.   
"Will didn't want to wake you up, he said you needed the rest." Cecil explained.  
"He nearly decapitated me when I tried to draw on your face." Said Travis Stoll next to him. For once, Nico was thankful for Will's worrying.    
He still checked his face for sharpie mustaches in the bathroom, just to besure. He had no doodles, but he did have a serious bedhead. He really needed a haircut. He hadn't had one in a very long time. Actually, he couldn't even remember his last haircut. He hadn't exactly had the time to visit a barber. It fell at his shoulders now and it was frizzyat the ends. He worked out the worst tangles in his hair with his fingers, then brushed his teeth.   
Thegirlfrom the first day brought him his breakfast when he came back. (Or did it count as lunch?) He hadn't noticed how hungry he was untill he saw the plate of toast and eggs. He was halfway through it when Will appeared.  
"Good, you're awake!" He sat down on his bed. "Your blood test results came in and they are pretty good, considering. Your hemoglobin is low and you could use some vitamins, but there are no illnesses or anything."   
 Will showedhim the papers with numbers and graphs, which didn't really make any sense to him. He nodded anyways. "I'll check your arms later, okay?" Will ruffled his hair with a smile and walked away.    
Annoyed, Nico pushed his hair out of his face. 

"It looks so much better already." Nico said as he looked at the wounds Will was treating. He was surprised about the change. In just two days, the wounds had closed and there was nothing left of the redness and it wasn't swollen anymore. Will nodded. "It looks really good. Keep using that ointment, but you won't have to cover it up with bandages anymore."   
Will smeared the ointment on Nico's arms when Cecil's whiny voice came from across the room. "Doctor, I feel neglected. You never give me that much attention." He pouted but had trouble keeping his grin of his face. Will ignored him. The tips of his ears were blushing. Nico closed the curtains with his free arm, shutting out Cecil's giggle.   
"Permission to make an exceptionand raise a few skeletons to kick his ass?" Nico whispered. Will snorted. "I can understand that it's very tempting, but I would have to lock you up for another week if you did."   
"Nevermind then. Won't be worth it if I have to listen to his jokes."   
Will laughed. His hands were still holding his arm, even though he was donewith the ointment. His fingers were warm and made his skin tingle. "Don't leave me out of all the fun!" Shouted Cecil.   
"I will stitch your mouth shut if you don't shut up!" Will shouted back. He turned to Nico. "Let's get out of here." 

The healer thought he was better enough to start their give-Nico-a-tan-trips. Nico silently cursed in ancient Greek as he climbed a mossy hill in the forest. "Come on, Zombie!" Will yelled from the top. Nico continued his curses out loud. When he had finally reached the top, sweaty and tired, he saw that Will had laid out a quilt and a picnic basketin an open field. Nico had wondered what was in the bag Will was carrying. He hadn't discovered this part of the forest before. The clearing had long grass that brushed at his ankles, with wild flowers popping out everywhere. The son of Apollo beamed at him and patted the empty spot next to him. "Finally, you slowpoke!" Nico pushed him as he sat down. Will just laughed and opened the basket. It was filledwith fruit, a fresh loaf of bread, chocolate and cupcakes. "Did you pack for an orphanage?" Nico asked. Will rolled his eyes and shoved a cupcake in his face. "Lou Ellen helped me pack and kept adding things." Nico pushed him again and took the cupcake."You should thank her for that, she was the one who said I would kill you if I only fed you organic natural stuff." Will said the last bit in a high voice. "She's right, sugar is good for you. Itshould beon that diet plan you gave me." Nico threw a mars bar at him, which hit the other in the forehead. "It shouldn't, sincejunk foodhas little nutritional value. This is a special occasion."   
Nico raised an eyebrow. "Really? What for?"   
"This is your last infirmary day, remember?" Nico blushed. He had completely forgotten. "Don't start cheering, you're not free yet. I will keep an eye on you." Now it was Nico who rolled his eyes. They ate in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Will leaned back on one arm, enjoying the sun with his eyes closed. It was a perfect summer day, in Nico's opinion. Not too hot and with big white clouds that slowly drifted by, casting shadows around him from time to time. A soft breeze carried the scent of strawberries. Nico laiddown on the quilt and looked at the sky.   
"That cloud looks like a duck." He flapped out. Will's eyes shot open and he looked up. "Where?" He stared, butapparentlycouldn't see it. Nico pointed. "That one." The son of Apollo gazed. Nico started drawing the outline of his duck in the air. "See, there's his mouth. Those are his wings, he's flying."  Will whispered a tiny "oh" and laid down next to him. He looked for a few seconds and then laughed. "See that one?" He pointed. "That’s a person falling of a pegasus." Nico saw and laughed too. They pointed out a few more things untill the clouds had mostly drifted by.   
"I haven't played this game in a long time." Will said.   
"I used to play it with my sister." Nico whispered. Will took his hand and gave him a reassuringsqueeze. Nico swallowed down the knot of sadness he felt in his throat and continued.   
"Bianca was very good at it. She had a lot more fantasy than I have. She could tell whole stories as the clouds changed. Even when I pointed out completely different things, she could always fit it in."   
He smiled sadly at the memory. He hadn't told anyone so much about her in a long time.   
A sudden crash behind them disturbed the moment. The boys were up in half a second. Nico automaticallyreached for the sword he didn't carry at the moment. Down at camp, a huge bronze dragon stepped out of the destroyed strawberry fields. Two tiny figures sat on its back. One stood up on its head and yelled.   
"GUESS WHO IS BACK?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the sweet comments and the kudos! :D  
> You won't believe how excited I am when I see new ones hahaha


	4. Chapter 4

Nico and Will ran down the hill as fast as they could. They tripped a couple of times and weren't the first to arrive at the commotion.   
Piper and Jason were crying and laughing. The Hephaestus cabin was cheering, raising Leo on their shoulders and giving him high fives. Festus the dragon made creaking noises and flapped its wings, as if to join the cheers.   
A pretty girl in jeans and a white blouse was talking to Annabeth and Percy. For some reason, there was a bright red palm print on Percy's cheek, but he must have deserved it because he didn't seem to mind it.   
Nico and Will arrived at the chaos, panting.   
"How in Hades did he...?" Nico had  _felt_  him die. He was gone, he had been sure of it. The explosion had destroyed everything and Nico felt two people die at the same moment. He set the thought aside.  
"I'll contact Hazel and the others." He announced to everyone who cared to listen and ran towards his cabin. There were too many people and it was making him slightly uncomfortable. He would ask the demigod how he had tricked death later. Plus, he didn't know him very well in the first place. Leo always seemed cautious around him and preferred to stay away from him. But he had seen the bond between Leo and Hazel, and how his death had affected her. He wanted her to hear the news as soon as possible.   
He ran into his cabin. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then opened the top drawer of his dresser. He retrieved his drachma piggy bank and a prism, which he set on the window sill. The prism broke the sunlight and Nico tossed a drachma into the rainbow.   
"Oh, Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Hazel Levesque."   
The drachma disappeared. Hazel's face showed up. She was wearing a helmet, meaning she was probably training.   
"Nico! Is there something wrong?" Hazel looked slightly worried. Nico wondered if he still looked distressed.   
"Hazel, Leo's back." As he expected, Hazel burst out in tears. He hadn't know a better way to tell her than to just be blunt, but now he was mentally kicking himself. Frank came running from somewhere. He had meant to comfort her, but he started crying himself when he heard the news. The sight of the big, bulky guy crying made Nico feel even worse. It took them about a minute before they could ask questions.   
"Leo had repaired Festus somehow. He just crashed down, and he has a girl with him." This seemed to cheer Hazel up a bit. "He found Calypso!"  
"I don't know where he has been, I couldn't ask him any questions. I just wanted to let you guys know before he crash landed into New Rome."   
Hazel laughed.   
"Terminus is still mad at him for sneaking into the city borders with a warship, I think he'll explode if he tries to land with a bronze dragon." Frank said.   
"How is New Rome? And how is Reyna doing?" Nico asked. Frank frowned. "Honestly, I don't know. A lot has happened in such a short time, and she seems upset. She has been trying to get back to things as they were, but it's clearly not working. She's focusing on renovating the city instead."  Nico nodded gravely. He was not really surprised. She had been slapped in the face with the past she had avoided for years. He could understand what she was going through right now.   
"I'll think of how I can help. But I should get back now, but I'll punch Leo for you and tell him to contact you." Hazel smiled. "Thank you, Nico. We'll visit you guys soon, okay?"   
The image faded. Nico turned around to lean against the wall and looked around his cabin. The plastic bats hanging from the ceiling would be the first to go, he decided. He didn't feel like going back yet, so he started pulling down the bats and fake cobwebs around the cabin. Who had decorated this place? Hades wasn't the god of cheap Halloween decorations. He was taking down a sheet-ghost when Jason walked in.   
"Wow, this place looks like the town of The Nightmare Before Christmas."   
"What?" Nico gave a confused look.   
"Nevermind. I was going to check on you and drag you back for dinner and strategy plans. We'll have a capture the flag tomorrow for Leo's return and I want you on my team." Jason held up his hand for a high five, which Nico accepted.   
"Who are we up against?" He asked as they walked out.   
"Percy's leading the other team. He has the Athena cabin, Hermes and Apollo. We're still recruiting, so far I've got Piper and Leo's cabin and you."   
"No you don't." Will said. Where had he come from? "Nico's still recovering, I won't let him play. Doctor's orders."   
Nico groaned. "Come on Will, it's just a game." Will folded his arms and glared. Nico stared back. Jason was looking at their staring contest while he silently cleaned his glasses with the hem of his shirt. "I'm out of the infirmary and should start training again." Nico had to look up a bit, since the other was a few centimeters taller. They glared for a few more seconds, then Will sighed. "Fine. But you'll have to promise not to do any Death-stuff. I'll be following you."   
"If you can keep up."   
"Oh, you won't have to worry about that."   
"We'll have won before you can even blink."   
"We'll see." The healer ruffled Nico's hair and walked towards the Apollo table. Jason smiled. "What?" Nico grumbled as he tidied his hair.   
"You and Will are pretty close, huh." Jason grinned. Nico's ears turned red. "No, we're not."   
"Well, it certainly looks like you guys are." Nico hid his face in his hands. Gods.   
"Jason, please, I don't even know if he's... You know..."   
"Gay?" Percy asked. They had reached the Hephaestus table (nobody cared about the table rules anymore), and pretty much everyone sitting around it had heard the conversation between him and Jason just now. Nico wanted to kick Percy for saying it, but Annabeth had already elbowed him in his ribs. "Ow... I didn't mean to be mean or anything?" Percy said, rubbing his side. "Yeah, well, I'm not used to saying it out loud like that. It still feels weird." Nico sighed as he sat down.   
"Nico, no one is going to judge you here. We're  _Greek_." Annabeth said. Nico raised an eyebrow. "What does being Greek have to do with sexuality?"   
"Homosexuality wasn't seen as something weird in Ancient Greece, it was respected. That view only changed in modern times." Annabeth explained. Nico had never heard of this before.   
"I once read this story... It said humans originally had two heads, four arms and four legs. Like humans stuck together at the back. The gods split them, creating men and women. That was how love was created, the humans wanted to unite again in their original form." Nico pushed his food around on his plate.  
"Is that the story of Aristophanes?" Piper asked. Nico looked up. "Yes, I think that's what the writer is called."   
"Then you missed a part. The original humans had three genders. There were men and women, like you said. But there were also men and men, and women and women. The story explained not just love, but also how some people loved people of the same gender."   
Nico was stunned. "I guess they censored that part out then..." He had read it before he went to the Lotus Casino, in Italy. It would have been weird if it hadn't been censored.   
"Aristophanes makes it sound like you're incomplete if you don't have someone to love. I don't agree, I think love should just make your life happier." Calypso said. It was quiet for a moment, then Leo spoke up. "Hey, I didn't come back to discuss philosophy. Let's talk about how we're going to destroy Percy tomorrow." That changed  the mood immediately. The rest the meal was filled with friendly fights on how the other team was going to lose. Nico tried to listen, but his eyes wandered towards the Apollo table from time to time, looking for a certain blond, hoping that maybe he had a chance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I was a bit mean to Percy in this chapter...  
> I am still sad that Rick got the Aristophanes story wrong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)#Aristophanes


	5. Chapter 5

Nico was cleaning up the lats bits of cobweb when he heard a knock on his cabin door. His hands were full and before he could put it down Will had walked in. Too late. Will took one look at him and he burst out in laughter.   
Nico had pulled back his hair in a high ponytail to keep it out of his face. He had used a scrunchieHazel had left behind, which was bright pink with a hello kitty on it. "It's not that funny." He grumbled.   
Will stopped. "Sorry." He was still giggling a bit when he walked towards Nico. "You just look really cute." Nico hit his arm and Will laughed again.   
"I'm going to get it cut. But did you have another reason to come here, except for laughing at me?" Nico asked.    
"Yeah, I wanted to kidnap you for our daily walk. You need to get out of this vampire cave."   
Nico sighed as he pulled out his ponytail. "I am already redecorating it."   
Will smiled as he plucked a strand of cobweb of his shirt. Nico's stomach felt as if the butterflies were making loops. He hoped he wasn't blushing.  
"Let's go then, Zombie."  

It was cool outside. The sun had only just come out, after hiding behind the clouds all morning. The son of Apollo didn't drag Nico up a hill this time. They walked around the lake, watching the tiny waves reflect the early sunlight. The big house looked like a toy from the distance they had walked. Will sat down on a dune. "Let's take a break." He said.   
Nico sat down next to him. Will leaned toward him. Their knees were touching.   
"I have a present for you." He said. He got something out of his pocket. His hand was still closed around it, so Nico couldn't see what it was.    
"I actually wanted to give it to you yesterday, but then Leo fell out of the sky and I just couldn't find the right moment after that." He said softly.  
"Could you turn around?" Nico nodded and turned his back towards Will. He felt warm fingers on his neck, which sent shivers down his spine. Will swept his hair aside. He fumbled with his necklace, untying the knot of the leather cord. He removed it and Nico felt Will lean towards him.   
"Don't look." He whispered in his ear. Nico closed his eyes.   
A moment later he felt Will's arms next to his head, and the necklace back on his chest. It was heavier than before. Will tied the knot again. "Now you can look." Nico turned back around and looked.   
Next to the single bead from his first summer was Lycaon's claw. The base was dipped in celestial bronze with a ring on it so it could hang from his necklace. He picked it up and turned it around. The bronze  and sharp edge of the claw glistened in the sun. Nico looked up and smiled.   
"Thank you."   
The speakers of the big house buzzed. "Game starts in half an hour, everyone assemble!" 

Jason stood on top of a boulder. "READY?" Their team cheered, weapons raised in the air. The horn sounded, the game had begun.   
Nico started to run west with five other kids. One of them was Lou Ellen, Nico didn't know the others. After running for about six minutes, Lou Ellen stopped. "I think this'll be a good spot." The others nodded, and she placed a stick in the ground. She closed her eyes in concentration. The stick grew and the top turned into fabric. In thirty seconds the stick had transformed into a flag. She gave a thumbs up and they split up to cover the area around the illusion.   
It was pretty quiet around them. Nico heard an explosion close to the river. He guessed that it would take a while before someone would reach this area. His spot was full with trees, all growing close to each other. Between them were good hiding bushes and climbing vines. He was deciding if he should wait somewhere in a shadow or climb up a tree and look around the area when he heard rustling behind him.   
He turned around, sword in his hand and stared straight into a pair of blue eyes. "Woah!" Will paled, hands up in the air. He definitely wasn't a fighter.  
"How did you get here so fast?" Nico didn't lower his sword. Will shrugged. "Told you I was fast." He was unarmed except for a short dagger, which was still hanging on his belt. Nico held up his hand. Will sighed and turned in his weapon. Nico tucked the dagger behind his own belt. Only then did he lower his sword. He hadn't heard anyone around except for Will.   
"Did you go here alone?" The tactic seemed weird to him. Will shrugged. "I was going to watch you, remember?" Nico hadn't actually expected him to be serious. Turned out he wasn't, because a few seconds later two others showed up, panting. "Dammit Will, don't leave us behind like that!"   
only then did they notice Nico. They drew their weapons and got into defense. The son of Hades dealt a few blows to the first guy and ducked when the other struck with his sword. The guy fell forward and Nico smacked him with the back of his sword.   
He turned towards the girl. "Run, Will!" She shouted. Will shot off. The girl tried to stab Nico with her spear but he jumped out of the way. She was a lot better in combat than her partners; she parried his blows with ease and Nico could dodge her stabs just in time. Nico had more room, and he used that. He forced the girl to step backwards untill she was with her back to a wall of bushes. Nico faked a blow, the girl held up her spear to parry but she was pushed into the bushes instead.   
Nico turned around and ran after Will. He had just spotted his green infirmary shirt when Will got to the spot of the flag.   
"I found it!" He shouted. He ran past Lou Ellen towards the stick. Just as his hand closed around the illusion, Will's foot hooked on a dead vine and he fell. Nico cursed and ran faster. He dropped down next to him.   
"Will, are you okay?" Will lay on his side, holding his left foot at the ankle. He hissed in pain. "I think I sprained it."   
Nico helped him sit up. Lou Ellen sat down at Will's other side.   
"Will, I'm so sorry!" She helped Nico to pull Will up.   
"It's okay El, I just tripped. It wasn't your fault."   
He tried moving his foot. He could, but from the look on his face it was very painful. Nico wrapped an arm around his waist to support him.   
"I'll get him to the infirmary." Lou Ellen nodded. Nico and Will's other team mates were awkwardly standing around them. Nico carried Will towards the closest tree, which was in opposite direction of the infirmary. "Where are you..." Nico slipped into the shadows before Will could finish the sentence. He pulled Will along and concentrated on the infirmary.   
The next moment they were behind the building.   
"I missed again." Nico murmured. He had meant to land in the infirmary, in the room where he had his blood drained on the first day. Will looked green. "Are you okay?" Will tried to glare at him, but it wasn't as fierce as his glares normally were. "You didn't just shadow travel. You promised you wouldn't."   
"This is a different situation. You're in a worse condition than me now.   
If I had to drag you through the woods, it would've taken an hour to  get here." They hobbled slowly towards the entrance. Elliot peeked out from the side room.   
"Could you get a bucket of cold water?" Nico asked. The satyr rushed off immediately. Nico carefully lowered Will on the chair. He had just taken off Will's shoe when Elliot returned with the bucket.   
Will's ankle was red and started to swell. Will hissed in pain when he lowered his foot in the cold water. "Elliot, do you have a salve for bruises and ace bandages?" Elliot nodded and left the room again.  
Nico looked at Will's foot. There was a small scrape on his shin, which Nico cleaned with the water.   
"I am not going to let you get away with this, di Angelo. You could have hurt yourself." Will said. Elliot came back with the items Nico had asked for and a towel. "But I didn't." He carefully patted Will's foot dry.   
"This is an injury that needs more attention. I'd say, two days of rest." Will looked up. "What?" Nico exchanged a look with Elliot.   
"Yes, two days at least." The satyr agreed. He tried his hardest to keep a straight face. Nico continued. "And after your rest, I will start training you. You wouldn't even be able to defend yourself against a scarecrow with you current skills."  
Will's mouth fell open. "But..."   
"No excuses." Nico grinned. "Doctor's orders." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	6. Chapter 6

Nico was lucky to have Elliot on his side, because without the help of the satyr it would have been near impossible to keep Will in the infirmary as a patient. The son of Apollo lay in his bed, sulking.   
"You're not even a doctor."   
"Neither are you."   
The boy couldn't really argue with that. Even though he had a lot of knowledge and a talent because of his father, he was as much of a doctor as Nico was. Nico finished wrapping Will's ankle in ace bandages. (It didn't look pretty, but it worked.) He carefully raised Will's leg and put a cushion underneath it.   
"I have to go now, but I'll come back to check on you later." Nico said. Will glared. Nico couldn't help it. He quickly ruffled Will's hair and then went off before Will could object. 

Nico passed the other campers on his way to the stables. "Nico!" Jason waved. Leo was smoking. Some of the campers on Percy's team were too, and they didn't look as happy. "WE WON! You missed our epic victory! The most historical capture the flag of this camp! Of every camp!"   
Nico high fived his team. Jason took him aside. "How's Will? Lou Ellen told me."   
"He's okay. He just has a mild injury and a bad temper. He'll live." Jason laughed. "Are you coming with us to celebrate?"   
Nico shook his head. "I've got other things to take care off. Later." Jason clasped his shoulder and went after the others towards the big house. "See you later then!"   
The son of Hades continued his way. He found who he was looking for in the last stable, hiding under the shade of a tree. "Hey, Blackjack."   
The pegasus whinnied in greeting. Nico scratched stroked his neck.   
The arrow wound on his flank was healing well. It was barely visible anymore. "I have a questionfor you." Blackjack snorted as if to say  _"Well say it then".  
_ "Could you ask Guido something for me?" 

Will was a bit less grumpy when Nico came back to the infirmary. It probably helped that Nico had brought a box of cookies and Uno.   
Will had been bored out of his mind without being able to run around and do things like he normally did. Nico watched Will shake the cards. He had really nice hands with long fingers.  
"Do you play an instrument?" Nico asked. Will turned the first card and smiled. "Badly. My mom tried to teach me piano when I was little, but I had no patience for it." Nico played a card.   
"What kind of music do you like?" Will asked as he played a card.   
"The Cure, the Smiths, Pink Floyd." Will smiled. "Not bad. But I'm going to introduce you to bands that aren't ancient."    
Nico played a reverse and plus two card. "Do you have more family?" It felt safe to ask that now, since Will had already mentioned his mother.   
"Just my mom. We live in California, she's a surgeon." Nico wondered if they looked alike. Will tried to take revenge on him by playing a joker, but Nico just lay another plus two on top. "Hey, that's cheating." Will protested. Nico pulled up an eyebrow. "I played card games for seventy years in the Lotus Casino. This is totally allowed." Will sighed and took seven cards. "Explains why you're so good at it then."   
Will had a whole fan of cards, Nico had only three. Will sorted his cards. He played a reverse, two eights (Nico decided not to say that eight-wait wasn't a thing), changed the colour and then placed a number card. "What was your favorite game there?" Will asked. Nico blushed a bit. "I,eh, really liked Mythomagic. I was pretty obsessed with it, actually."   
"I'll have to introduce you to other games too then." Will laughed. Nico blushed more when he thought how he liked that sound.   
"What are you going to do after camp?"Nico had wondered about that for a while. It was one of the hardest questions to ask a camper. He had two cards left. "I'll go home. I am not chased around much by monsters, so I'll go back to the school I went to last year as a sophomore." Will shuffled his cards around again before playing a number card.   
"What are you going to do?" Nico twisted the ring on his finger. "Not sure yet. I want to try going to school, but I missed a lot. And it's pretty late to sign up for a school now. Last card, out." Will sighed.   
"You're too good. But I have nine questions left." He waved his cards. "Can you even think of nine questions?" Nico asked. Will smiled.   
"Wanna bet? See, that's one." He put down the card. "But I guess I only have three questions I really want to know. Ready?" He put down another card, Nico laughed. "That was not an answer. Ready?" seven cards left. "Yes, I'm ready." Will was smiling mischievously. "Are you okay with yes or no questions?" six. "yes." Will put a hand under his chin, as if thinking about his next question. "Can I have a cookie, please?" Nico pushed a cookie towards him. "Not an answer. Please?" Will questioned as he took a bite. Nico threw another cookie at him. "Yes." Will laughed.   
"Are you sure you're ready?"   
"I already answered that." Will still put down another card. He had three cards left. "Are you in a relationship?" Nico hadn't expected that. "No."   
"Is there someone you like?" Will kept eye contact as he put down a card. Nico's stomach felt as if it had fallen out of his body. "Yes."   
Will twirled his last card in his hand. "Is it a girl?" Nico swallowed. "No."   
Will smiled as he put down the last card. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Classic Will
> 
> Sort of a short chapter. I shouldn't be able to write much this week because I have exams, but I will probably still upload this week since I haven't been studying much either this week.  
> Don't be like me kids.


	7. Chapter 7

"Please, sit still. I'm nearly done." Piper said again as she slightly tilted Nico's head back up. Again. "Sorry." He mumbled. He blew a few stray hairs from his cheek. He closed his eyes and listened to the snips of the scissors.   
After a while, it stopped. Piper walked around to look at all the sides. "Okay, I'm done." She put down the scissors and switched them for a handmirror.   
Nico looked in the mirror. Somehow, the haircut had changed his whole look. His hair was shorter, so now it was curlier. His eyes weren't hidden anymore and his jaw line stood out more, which made him look older. He ran his hand through his hair. It went through easily without getting stuck in knots. He looked up at Piper. "Thank you."   
Piper smiled. "No problem."   
Nico stood up and brushed the locks from his clothes. He was amazed at how much hair had come from his head. It was enough to build a small dog out of it. They were just done cleaning up when Jason walked in. Behind him was someone in a purple toga.   
"Reyna!" Nico walked towards her and she hugged him tightly. They had become very good friends during their travel halfway across the world. After a minute she let go and held him by his shoulders to look sternly at him. She had dark circles under her eyes.   
"Did you make Guido kidnap me? He didn't listen to me anymore and just flew off towards camp." Nico smiled.   
"It was an emergency. I heard you've been overworking yourself again, and judging from your look it's true." Reyna sighed and spun the ring on her finger. Nico held her hand to make her stop.   
"Come on, we have to talk." They got outside. It was a hot day. Campers were lazying around in the shade of trees or swimming in the lake.   
Guido was still standing in the circle of the cabins. When he saw Reyna coming back, he came over to nuzzle her and then Nico.   
"Thanks for bringing her. Blackjack's in the stable, he's nearly better." Nico said as he stroked Guido's neck. Guido rolled his head. Maybe that was the pegasus equivalent of rolling your eyes, because he made a  _"Duh"_  sound while doing it. He walked towards the stables anyway.   
Nico turned towards Reyna. "So, horse friend, what's wrong?"  
Reyna sighed. They slowly walked along the cabins.   
"I've been having nightmares. A lot, lately. I used to be able to control them, but I can't anymore." She kicked up some dust. "So when I'm awake, which is often, I try to do things to get the nightmares out of my mind. Which you guys call overworking myself."   
"Because it is." Reyna sighed again.   
"Is it your dad?" Nico asked. Reyna nodded. "Among other things."   
Suddenly Rachel appeared from behind a cabin, causing Nico to nearly bump into her. She quickly recovered and looked at the two of them.  
"What's with this depressing mood?" Without even waiting for an answer, she grabbed Reyna's hand. "Come on, girl. Let's do something about it. No offense, Nico, but you're too gloomy to cheer someone up."   
Rachel walked off with Reyna in long struts. Reyna gave one last, confused and offended look towards Nico before she disappeared. Nico waved. He smiled when they were out of sight. He had seen how Rachel had looked at Reyna when she was at camp before. He hoped it worked out, Reyna deserved it. He would find an opportunity to talk to Reyna later. 

Nico found Percy on the training grounds and challenged him for a practice battle. He could definitely use some training. He used to train for at least an hour every day, but he hadn't been able to do that while being in the infirmary. His fights at the game were the last time he had used his sword. It had been even longer for Percy, appearantly, since he soon started having trouble holding his sword.    
"Come on, we defeated Gaia only a few weeks ago. Already getting tired?" Nico provoked him with a grin. It seemed to work, because Percy flamed up again. "Shut up!"   
The son of Poseidon sweepd Riptide. Nico jumped out of the way, laughing. Percy swung his sword, again and again in strong slashes. They were all predictible, and Nico parried them with ease.   
Percy raised his sword high. As soon as he saw it, he know it was the last move. Nico raised his own sword to block the blow, then pushed Percy back. He fell on the ground, cursing. Riptide had fallen out of his hands and lay on the ground next to him. Nico lay down his own sword next to it, before extending his hand to the black haired boy. Percy looked behind Nico's shoulder and smiled. "Your boyfriend is watching."   
Nico let go, causing Percy to fall back down. Will was indeed standing behind them. closeby. Nico cursed in himself. He had definitely heard that. "What are you doing here?"    
"My imprisonment is over. 48 hours of infirmary completed. Elliot fired me, since my real doctor hadn't come by all day." Will mock-glared at him with a twinkle in his eyes. Percy stood up, smiling as he looked at Nico and Will while dusting himself off. Percy smacked his shoulder. "Well, I'm off then. I'll beat you next time. Bye, Will." Nico watched him jog away.  
"I like your haircut." Will said. "It's even better than that pony tail." Nico punched the laughing blond on  his arm. Will closed his hand around his fist.   
"No, seriously. I like seeing your eyes."   
Nico blushed and felt the urge to pull away his hand, but he decided to be brave instead. He unfolded his fist and held Will's hand. Now it was the son of Apollo who was taken aback. Nico smiled and squeezed his hand before letting go. "Let's start training." Will nodded and Nico picked up his sword before they walked towards the weaponry. Will's foot was still wrapped up, and he didn't put any weight on his leg. Today would just be a basic lecture then.   
"But couldn't you have done something to celebrate me getting out of the infirmary?" Will asked. Nico blushed. He had avoided visiting, because every time he thought about it he remembered yesterday and he chickened out.    
Will knew. He had accepted it. He was almost 100% certain Will felt the same. There was something between them and the barrier of uncertainty was down. It felt as if they were closer and it was scaring the crap out of him, and yet it was exciting at the same time.   
"Maybe I was going to." Nico managed to say. "And maybe I was just waiting for a good moment to ask." Will laughed. "To ask what?"  
"Not the right moment." Nico simply said.   
He looked around the weaponry. It was filled with daggers, swords, axes, clubs, spears... "Are you good with the bow?"   
"Eh," Will  _stammered_. "I had to promise not to ever, ever, EVER touch a bow again after a certain incident." Nico turned around to see Will staring at the ground. "What happened?"   
"I was practicing, and my arrow somehow went sideways and hit my instructor in the foot." Nico laughed.   
"You had a dagger at the game. Have you ever practiced with it?" He handed Will a dagger. It was longer and more narrow than the one he used at the game, and it was also lighter. Will turned it around in his hand, to feel its weight. "Not really. I just picked something up."   
Nico showed him how to hold the dagger and some techniques and tricks he knew. Then he handed Will the dagger. "Now you try."  
He held the dagger the wrong way. Nico knocked it out of his hands.   
"Try again."  
Will looked down at the fallen dagger, dumbstruck. "I hadn't even done anything." Nico picked up the weapon and handed it to him.  
Will took it and held it more tightly this time. Nico gently placed his fingers so he was holding it right. "Hold it like that."   
Nico tried the same move he had just done, but this time Will didn't drop it. He tried an attack, which Nico caught with his other hand.   
Nico smiled at him. "Better." Will smiled back."This would be a nice moment for a question." "Not anymore."   
Will laughed and sat down against the wall. Nico smiled as he sat down next to him. "Is your foot okay?" Will turned and put his leg on Nico's lap."Now it's better."   
They just sat in silence for a moment. Will had laid his head against the wall with his eyes closed and a faint smile on his face. The light of the window landed on him. The tan on his face had gotten darker. His hair looked silky, the tips bleached nearly white. He was beautiful.   
"Do you want to go to the campfire with me tonight?"   
Will smiled. "Ofcourse. But was that the question you had trouble asking?" Will's laugh when Nico poked his knee sounded like bells. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to everyone who should be studying. I'm not watching you, I'm one of those people.  
> Also, Reyna is second in my list of people who just need to be happy. She deserves happiness, dammit.


	8. Chapter 8

"Don't you have a sweater or something?" Will asked as he leaned against the doorpost of his cabin. The blue hoodie complimented his eyes, making them stand out more. Nico shrugged.   
"I still haven't found the time to go shopping for clothes." Will held up his hand in the universal wait a moment sign. A minute later he came back with a dark green sweater. "You don't have to-"   
The rest of the sentence was muffled by the sweater that Will put on him. "I can dress myself." Nico murmured as Will pulled the sweater past his head. "You weren't going to and I am not going to let you freeze to death." Will replied.   
They held a silent staring war before Nico sighed and put his arms in the sleeves. It was warm and smelled like the blond boy. Will grinned and grabbed his hand. "Let's go then."   
They walked towards the campfire. A lot of campers where there already and the fire had already started. Some were adding wood and other flamable things to it. The Apollo cabin had brought instruments and people roasted marshmallows. Nico spotted some people he knew. Most of the Argo II was there, and Will's friends too. Lou Ellen saw them from the tree trunk she was sitting on and waved. Her smile got even bigger when she saw their entwined hands. Nico didn't want to let go, and from the way Will held his hand tighter he didn't want to either. He felt just a bit embarrassed and hoped people wouldn't make a big deal out of it.   
They sat down next to Lou Ellen. When Nico looked up, he saw someone he hadn't recognized before. Reyna was beautiful. Her hair was piled on her head with braids and wildflowers. Lose curls fell over her shoulders. She was smiling, a faint blush on her cheeks. Rachel leaned forward to whisper something in het ear and she laughed.   
For a moment they just sat in silence and listened to the music. It was a weird but cool mash-up of songs where the ending of one song flowed over in the beginning of a new one. It was some sort of competition, where they tried to string together as many songs as possible.  
Will laid his head on Nico's shoulder. Nico stiffened, his heart stopped. He wondered if he would ever get used to this contact. His first reaction to physical contact was still to pull back and he hated it.   
He didn't have to run anymore. He didn't have to hide anymore. He thought of the tiny steps he had made already. The hugs from his friends, kisses on the cheek. His confession to Percy. He would get used to it, eventually. He hoped. He took a slow breath and felt his body relax. Will rubbed his hand with his thumb. "Are you okay?" He whispered. "Yeah." Nico lied.   
Will moved away and stands up. "Come on." He pulls Nico away from the campfire. He gives Lou Ellen a look over his shoulder and she nods. He continues to walk. "Will, where are we going?"   
"Not far." He stops. They are at the edge of the forest. They can still see the orange glow of the campfire, but are away from the people. It's quiet and the air is cold. Will sits down against a tree, pulling Nico with him to sit next to him. An owl calls, closeby. The wind rustles the leaves above them.   
"I know you try," Will whispers, "but you feel uneasy around groups of people." Will laid his head on his shoulder again. Nico rested his head on Will's and closed his eyes. His hair was soft and smelled of flowers.   
"Sorry," He mumbled. He heard Will snort. "I know you normally avoid things like this and only went because I like them."   
A wave of laughter in the distance. "Well, I like them under normal circumstances. Not when my date doesn't."   
"Wait,  _date_?" Nico turns to look at Will, who looks at his chest and mutters something like "Well, yes, I guess... I thought."   
Nico gives his hand a squueze. "I guess we could call it that." 

Nico was still smiling the next morning at breakfast. Reyna was too. She sat across from him, eating her pancakes. Her hair was loose for a change, it fell down her back in a waterfall of curls.   
"So," She began as she looked up, "who was that blond boy?"   
"Will Solace. He's from the Apollo cabin and kind of my personal doctor who locked me up in the infirmary after the battle." Nico told her a quick recap of the past week. Had it only been a week? Time went by quickly, yet it seemed so much longer. Nico took a refill of coffee and sighed.   
"So, now it's your turn. What did Rachel do to you yesterday?"   
Reyna shrugged. "We talked a lot, she did my hair and we picked strawberries. I don't know, she's fun to be around with. She sees things from a different angle I guess, and I had so much fun yesterday that I forgot what troubled me. Well, not forgot, more like..."   
"It is not the main topic of your thoughts anymore, and because you can see it from a different angle you see there are so many things that are more worthy of your attention, and now it just seems so small?" Reyna nodded.   
"Yeah, I kind of understand that." He had clung to his loneliness for so long, believing he shouldn't be around others. He couldn't be around others, he was too dangerous. He wasn't likable. He understood now that even though he was a pessimistic grump, people liked him as he was. And he was still finding that part of him back, but there was something more to him too. And he wasn't poisenous, the life of a demigod was just dangerous. His presence didn't make it worse, but he could protect the people he cared about. He had new people to care about now.   
"So, what are your plans for today?" Reyna asked.   
"My stitches will be taken out today, so I'll visit the infirmary. I want to hang out with you too though, and the others. I think I spent a lot of time around Will lately." Nico said with a slight blush. Reyna gave him a warm smile.   
"I don't feel neglected by you or something, Nico. I don't think the others feel neglected either. Plus, you seem happier so I'm happy for you."   
Nico smiled back. he felt like crying about how lucky he was, about how his family had grown so much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, life happened.


	9. Chapter 9

Nico sparred a bit with Reyna before he went off to the infirmary to get his stitches out. It was nice to train with her, and because of their different fighting styles they could learn a lot from each other.  
Will had been waiting for him, his tools laid out on the table.  
"There you are. I was starting to think you were going to come."  
"No way, I want these stupid strings out of my arms." Nico sat down on the bed and removed his shirt. Will inspected the stitches.  
"They look good. It healed faster than I thought it would." He started cleaning the wounds with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.  
"It's kind of sad."  
"What is?" Nico asked.  
"This marks the end of your recovery. You don't have to come to the infirmary anymore." Nico thought of how to react to that. Lighten the mood with a joke? Reassure him that surely he will get wounded again?  
"Maybe I don't need a reason to see you." That sounded a lot flirtier out loud than in his head, oh Gods. He blushed. Will just smiled. He started cutting the first knot. The scabs of the wounds were nearly completely healed. The scars were an awful purple colour that would probably take a few years to turn white. "We still have our walks, ofcourse." Will said after he was done with the first row.  
"And don't forget your training." Will groaned at that, making Nico smile this time. Cecil appeared out of the side room, nealy skipping of joy.  
"I'm free!"  
"Oh thank the Gods." Will said with exaggerated relief. Cecil punched Will's shoulder. (Luckily he wasn't close to Nico's arm with the scissors when he got punched. He didn't really feel like getting a new set of stitches.)  
"Don't cheer just yet, I'll find other moments to annoy you and your boyfriend." He laughed.

  
The next couple of days flew by without anything really interesting. Nico had so many people who wanted to train with him-Will, Percy, Reyna. Percy slowly got his strength back, and actually started standing a chance against him.  
Reyna and he exchanged all their techniques and just had a lot of fun. Will was near hopeless. Nico decided to teach him basic self defence and made him promise to start practice running once his ankle had completely healed. Will was fast, but he lacked stamina. He hoped he could keep avoiding fights like he had untill now, and could run when he had to. They kept practicing with the dagger too, hoping that he never had to use it. Nico hoped that because he didn't want Will to get himself hurt (not that he told him that), and Will didn't want to hurt people.  
He was a healer, not a killer. Nico thought that maybe Will held back during their trainings, because he didn't want to hurt Nico too. He hadn't found a way yet to make him train more seriously, but maybe Will would do better during a real fight.  
After he spent most of the days on the training grounds, other campers asked him for advice too. He enjoyed training others, but at the end of those days he was exhausted. One night Will had laughed at him while he lay on his bed and called him an old man. Then he had pointed out the freckles on his face. Every single one, untill Nico's entire face felt like colander from Will's pokes.  
Nico sighed at the memory and stared at the ceiling of his cabin. Will had borrowed him his Ipod. 60 GB of music, which was a lot.  
He still wondered how so many hours of music could fit in something so small, or how you could even listen to all of it. Will knew every song, all the lyrics. When Will had showed it to him they had listened together for a few hours, sharing the earbuds. Will sang softly to the music and after every song he would switch to another saying he would absolutely love this one. His singing voice wasn't the best, to put it mildly. But Nico felt honored in some way, how relaxed the son of Apollo was around him. And he was sometimes amazed at how relaxed he felt. He didn't mind the occasional false note when he was lying next to him, their shoulders touching. During the chorus he joined in, their voices melting together.  
Tonight he listened alone. It had become a habit to listen for a while before he fell asleep. He had found a couple of bands he liked, but there were still what felt like a thousand he still had to discover. Nico hadn't listened to music like this for a long time. Nothing else to do, not just as a background noise. He felt like he was engulfed in a cocoon of music.  
He fell asleep with the music in his ears, and woke up the next morning with it. Well, only in one ear since the other earbud had fallen out. Someone was knocking on his door, loud and repeatedly.  
"Nico, you have to see this." Jason's voice came through his door. Nico slid out of his bed. (still the coffin, since they hadn't enough funds to replace them. He had come to like them more, they were cool in an ironic way.) There was a red string hanging from his door. It creeped down from the slit between the door and the doorpost. Confused, Nico opened the door. Jason had his right arm wound in red string.  
Camp looked as if a giant yarn ball had fallen down, and then a giant cat had played with it. Strands hung from the roofs of the cabins, wound around trees, around cabins... Campers ran around to follow it.  
"What the...?" Nico looked again at the piece of yarn hanging from his door. He could only follow it with his eyes to a a few metres before he lost it between the others. Jason grinned as he made a ball out of his yarn.  
"I think it's a Hermes prank, since strangely no one from that cabin is running around."  
Nico absentmindedly wound the yarn around his arm as he watched the others. Someone had to climb a tree to release his strand from a branch. A girl manouvered her way between a criss-cross web. Only then began Nico's head to wake up. "Wait, red string. The string of fate?"  
Jason shrugged. "One way to find out, I guess." He pointed towards the direction of his strand, which led towards the cabin next to Nico's.  
Soon, Nico ran out of yarn to wind around his arm. He followed it, covering his arm while he walked. It led directly to the giant web in the middle of the cabins. He carefully stepped over and underneath every strand. Nico saw that Percy and Annabeth had found where their string led. Percy one end, Annabeth the other, smiling as they held hands.  
He walked past them, around a cabin, back to the web, towards the woods, back to the web. Why did they make this so troublesome? But he couldn't deny this was fun. Around them everyone was excited and laughing and it was contagious. He knew who was on the other end of the string he was holding. He looked around for the mop of blond hair, but he couldn't find him. Others where finding their ends. Jason had found Piper. He had lifted her in the air and was slowly spinning her around, laughing. Nico looked back to his strand and saw it going towards a cabin, up a roof. He would have to climb it. Luckily, there was a ladder standing next to the cabin. He was halfway up when he felt a tug at the yarn. He gave a small tug back. A laugh from on top of the roof that made his heart beat faster. He reached the top and saw Will sitting cross-legged, smiling. "It was pretty fun to watch you run around camp."  
"Couldn't you have followed it further?" Nico asked, smiling back. Will wound the tiny ball of string in his hands. "Maybe." He said with a mischievious grin. Will held out his hand. Nico accepted it and let himself be pulled down next to Will. They laid down on the roof. The sky was completely cloudless, a perfect blue.  
"I have to admit, this is a nice spot." Nico said. He was still holding Will's hand, the contact giving him tiny sparks.  
"Isn't it? Better now that you're here, though." Will blushed as he said it. He looked embarassed, which made Nico laugh.  
"Smooth talk doesn't suit you."  
"Actually, I tried to flirt. But I suck at it." Will quickly recovered from his embarrassment. He turned to look Nico in his eyes. "But I do mean it." The blue of his eyes was like the sky, but so much more perfect.  
The son of Apollo licked his lips before he continued. "I like you, Nico. A lot. And I guess I tried to show it, but I should say it and should have said it sooner too." The sudden confession made Nico's heart skip a beat.  
"I could have said something too. But I guess we sort of knew already, didn't we?" His voice was quiet. He turned his head to see Will was looking at him. Their foreheads touched and Will gave a nervous laugh.  
"Oh no," Nico slowly pulled back. Will looked startled. "Did I do something wrong?" Nico shaked his head. "I just remembered I haven't brushed my teeth." The blond fell down on Nico's stomach, wheezing with laughter. Nico joined in and didn't stop untill his stomach hurt, his arms around Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry guys. Ten days went by without updating, it felt like maybe three? I mostly slept. ;u;


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